Dragonflight Alpha/Beta General Discussion

[AngerFork]

They don't tend to do it on time. They always do it on time.

Hearthstone is a nimble little game, pretty uncomplicated and straightforward. There is no reason to believe the team would suddenly ask for a very specific 2 extra days to prepare an announcement, lol. I could maybe see a game release being pushed because delays and polish, but not an announcement.

Absolutely there is reason to believe that. A lot can happen in two days: bug fixes, getting the last interview in, getting a sign off because a manager was on vacation before something was approved, giving a speaker who has a sore throat/weak voice some time to recover and/or find a replacement, or for that matter just trying to get an update out while dealing with a server issue. I feel the real key here is to remember how suddenly this announcement changed via tweet yesterday. This wasn't an early delay like we had for SL launch, this was the day before. If it were for something like a 9.2.5 announcement, we would have had a bit more notice as that isn't a last minute thing.

[Super Dickmann]

But yeah my vote is a revamp. I don't believe the present Blizzard is ambitious enough.

I expect Light stuff but instead bullshit surrounding Calia that nobody asked for. She feels like the next Kairozdormu in terms of a book character inserted to incite bullshit.

Sadly extremely true. The other downside is that the only unapologetic antagonists we've had who actually enjoy and believe what they're doing have been Azshara and Denathrius. Oh, and G'huun I guess. Everyone else from N'zoth to Sylvanas to the Bald Man to Sargeras have told me that, no, really, it's all for our own good or have had a last second mope like Kil'jaeden. The version of Yrel I enjoyed was all about converting/blasting the infidel but by the time she gets to our screens she'll likely come prewritten with corruption by some nebulous boring asshole while she'll renounce her characterization and revert to WoD factory settings by around x.2.

That said, I love the aesthetic of the Xenedar and the whole golden metal leak appearance was the most interesting part of Krokuun, so at least it'll be more visually engaging.

@Le Conceptuel

Yes, the Lightbound are best introduced as a neutral/allied group to start with as regards the Alliance.

[Makorus]

Absolutely there is reason to believe that. A lot can happen in two days: bug fixes, getting the last interview in, getting a sign off because a manager was on vacation before something was approved, giving a speaker who has a sore throat/weak voice some time to recover and/or find a replacement, or for that matter just trying to get an update out while dealing with a server issue. I feel the real key here is to remember how suddenly this announcement changed via tweet yesterday. This wasn't an early delay like we had for SL launch, this was the day before. If it were for something like a 9.2.5 announcement, we would have had a bit more notice as that isn't a last minute thing.

It's an announcement of an expansion that is pre-recorded.

It's not the expansion getting released, it's the expansion getting announced.

Unless they tremendously fucked up and somehow deleted the video file, I just don't see why they would delay it by two days.

[Polybius]

The thing is, whether I'm right or wrong, we'd still all lose, because Blizzard would just as likely take a cool theme and run it into the ground with shitty story telling.

There's no winning here. I don't vouch for a Dragon Isles expansion because I want one, because I know it's gonna be in the wrong hands either way. I vouch for it because it's the likeliest scenario right now with the information we have available to us.

We have a datamined drake mount, and we have a potential leaker who correctly revealed Cross Factions and how it would work merely days before Blizzard had. Anything and everything else is either debunked as fake, or is too vague to consider potentially legitimate. These are the only two real tangible pieces of information we have right now that is beyond mere speculation. It doesn't mean Blizzard couldn't pull a total 180 and announce Tinkers of Tinkeria and render your theory true, but I personally don't bet money on baseless speculations like that, just like I never would have bet on your '5 reasons Demon Hunters won't be playable' patterns.

There's nothing special about the Steamscale Incinerator. It was not released at the right moment, right time to be considered a hint at any future expansion. And if a future expansion happens to have tech in it, then the connection would mostly be coincidental more than anything. The theme of technology is pervasive in WoW anyways, and even made its way into a generally non-Tech themed expansion like BFA. It makes sense if you said Steamscale potentially hinted at Mechagon, but to extend it to Expansion 10 or 11 is just stretching it.

That poster just confirmed yesterday they faked it.

https://www.mmo-champion.com/threads...4#post53643914

[Le Conceptuel]

That said, I love the aesthetic of the Xenedar and the whole golden metal leak appearance was the most interesting part of Krokuun, so at least it'll be more visually engaging.

Yes, the Lightbound are best introduced as a neutral/allied group to start with as regards the Alliance.

I honestly do somewhat want to use the Lightbound as a hook to get a new roleplay character in, especially since assuming WoW doesn't finally collapse anytime soon we could feasibly expect some kind of recuperation and some long-term plans on the part of Microsoft (assuming they start meddling after next expansion and don't use it as a passive income sink).

[Triceron]

That poster just confirmed yesterday they faked it.

https://www.mmo-champion.com/threads...4#post53643914

Ah, good to know!

[Ersula]

Unless they tremendously fucked up and somehow deleted the video file, I just don't see why they would delay it by two days.

9 out of 10 chance since this is the era of "per-orders have to happen immediately after the announcement" todays WoW Vault changes meant they didn't want to do a big Hearthstone pre-order drop with instant pre-order bonuses the same day as an involved WoW maintenance.

[Raetary]

I obviously meant the aftermath.

The aftermath would be explored outside of the raid, but since the epilogue quests revolve around Slyvanas that isn't gonna happen.

[AngerFork]

It's an announcement of an expansion that is pre-recorded.

It's not the expansion getting released, it's the expansion getting announced.

Unless they tremendously fucked up and somehow deleted the video file, I just don't see why they would delay it by two days.

I doubt it would be anything that drastic, though it may well be due to someone's error. Might be something as simple as some weird sound happening during a quote in the release video which they have to re-record & edit. That stuff happens in video editing all the time.

Okay, so here's a theory:

Blizzard monitored the situation after the 9.2 Zovaal cinematic, and felt like damage control is needed. Instead of waiting a few more days to announce 9.2.5 and change the discourse, they pushed Hearthstone and took its news slot for tonight.

That's a possibility too, would absolutely explain the last minute change. Given that 9.2.5 wasn't anywhere on that date window release, it does seem like they wanted the PTR release window to be flexible & we have (as I recall) seen a couple vendor releases that usually are just before a patch PTR release. It's not out of the question that 9.2.5 could have been slated for Thursday & the two swapped for whatever reason, either on the Hearthstone or WoW team side. Deadlines move for a multitude of reasons & 9.2.5 could be one, I'm just not sold that's fully the reason for the HS delay at this point.

[Edward Wu]

I don't think we are going to get good story again until Danuser and his crew are no longer employed by Blizzard. That is the grim reality. That cutscene with Arthas' soul showed way too much disrespect to past lore. And their clear need to keep Sylvanas alive and thriving is just peak hypocrisy.

[Sondrelk]

Okay, so here's a theory:

Blizzard monitored the situation after the 9.2 Zovaal cinematic, and felt like damage control is needed. Instead of waiting a few more days to announce 9.2.5 and change the discourse, they pushed Hearthstone and took its news slot for tonight.

As much as I want to believe that, I cannot really believe Blizzard would really care that much about SL at this point. It's literally a question of two days.

There is nothing Blizzard can realistically do to make players positive to Shadowlands that hasn't already been the plan for 9.2.5, unless they decide to cram it full of features at the expense of the 10.0 production line.

I am far more inclined to believe they pushed the Hearthstone stuff back because someone up top said that tonight would be bad to have an announcement, and in two days would be better, with no more explanation given than that.

[Makabreska]

Okay, so here's a theory:

Blizzard monitored the situation after the 9.2 Zovaal cinematic, and felt like damage control is needed. Instead of waiting a few more days to announce 9.2.5 and change the discourse, they pushed Hearthstone and took its news slot for tonight.

Well, Danuser himself tweeted that he understands and share the disappointment with Zooval cinematic, and said "wait and see".

[Sondrelk]

I don't think we are going to get good story again until Danuser and his crew are no longer employed by Blizzard. That is the grim reality. That cutscene with Arthas' soul showed way too much disrespect to past lore. And their clear need to keep Sylvanas alive and thriving is just peak hypocrisy.

The writers just need to stop writing large interconnected pieces of lore spanning the entire expansion with the exception of the vaguest of overarching themes.

Just have them go back to the Vanilla style patches, where each one was a separate story for only a couple of zones at most.

- - - Updated - - -

Well, Danuser himself tweeted that he understands and share the disappointment with Zooval cinematic, and said "wait and see".

As much as I want to give him the benefit here, I think he is more likely just talking about the whole Sylvanas jumping into the Maw thing being what "salvages" the expansion. And to be fair, we don't actually know what will happen there other than Sylvanas presumably exiting stage left, "never" to be seen again.

[Raetary]

Well, Danuser himself tweeted that he understands and share the disappointment with Zooval cinematic, and said "wait and see".

Seriously?
He's literally the head of the team that caused it to be this disappointing in the first place....

[Cosmic Janitor]

Well, Danuser himself tweeted that he understands and share the disappointment with Zooval cinematic, and said "wait and see".

Do you have a link to that tweet? I have a hard time believing he would admit to that.

[AngerFork]

Do you have a link to that tweet? I have a hard time believing he would admit to that.

This is the closest I could find, though I think he's more referring to the sense of having an ending in general and not to the specific Zovahttps://twitter.com/SteveDanuser/sta...78728974491653

[Makorus]

Do you have a link to that tweet? I have a hard time believing he would admit to that.

I think he is referring to the Epilogue that was there in the 9.2 PTR but then mysteriously vanished (probably coming in 9.2.5)

[Makabreska]

Ye, what they said.

[Le Conceptuel]

Didn't he or somebody close to him say something similar a year ago or so? I feel like it's just the never-ending baiting continuing.

"Wait and see" is the Danuser default. If something gets criticized, "wait and see". They even tried that with Sylvanas' genocide pre-BFA, and it was literally exactly what it looked like.

- - - Updated - - -

This is the closest I could find, though I think he's more referring to the sense of having an ending in general and not to the specific Zovahttps://twitter.com/SteveDanuser/sta...78728974491653

The "ending" will likely only be a conclusion for Sylvanas and Pelagos, not so much anything else.

[Edward Wu]

Who gives a solitary fuck about Pelagos? LMAO